Donuts go nuts

Has New York City’s Cronut craze gotten out of hand?

Author Chris Wilson

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Walk along Manhattan’s Spring Street in the morning and you’ll pass a line of people so absurd that it must be seen to be believed. Since May, dozens—sometimes hundreds—of people have woken up at dawn and stumbled, bleary-eyed, to Soho to queue up. Anywhere else, they might be waiting for new iPhones or concert tickets. But this is New York City, where dessert trends driven by blitzes of social media and food blog hype sweep in like weather events. This one, for Cronuts—delicately-layered croissant-donut hybrids deep-fried in grape-seed oil, filled with cream, rolled in sugar and finally glazed with flavors such as blackberry, rose vanilla or lemon maple—is nearly unprecedented in scope, inspiring some to scalp the $5 treats for up to $100. The question arises: Is the Cronut worth it? It seems so—since the launch of his eponymous bakery, baker Dominique Ansel has trademarked the name but still hasn’t stopped rival bakers the world over from peddling Kronuts, Croughnuts, Doissants and—in what might be the most indulgent breakfast of all time—the Crookie, a croissant stuffed with Double Stuf Oreos.